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Has the War Party Hooked Trump?

Has the War Party Hooked Trump?

With his Sunday tweet that Bashar Assad, “Animal Assad,” ordered a gas attack on Syrian civilians, and Vladimir Putin was morally complicit in the atrocity, President Donald Trump just painted himself and us into a corner.

Now, either Trump launches an attack that could drag us deeper into a seven-year civil war from which he promised to extricate us last week, or Trump is mocked as being a man of bluster and bluff.

For Trump Sunday accused Barack Obama of being a weakling for failing to strike Syria after an earlier chemical attack.

“If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand,” Trump tweeted, “the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!”

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Trump’s credibility is now on the line and he is being goaded by the war hawks to man up. Sunday, John McCain implied that Trump’s comments about leaving Syria “very soon” actually “emboldened” Assad:

“President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria. Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children, this time in Douma.”

Pronouncing Assad a “war criminal,” Lindsey Graham said Sunday the entire Syrian air force should be destroyed.

So massive an attack would be an act of war against a nation that has not attacked us and does not threaten us. Hence, Congress, prior to such an attack, should pass a resolution authorizing a U.S. war on Syria.

And, as Congress does, it can debate our objectives in this new war, and how many men, casualties and years will be required to defeat the coalition of Syria, Russia, Hezbollah, Iran, and the allied Shiite militias from the Near East.

On John Bolton’s first day as national security adviser, Trump is being pushed to embrace a policy of Cold War confrontation with Russia and a U.S. war with Syria. Yet candidate Trump campaigned against both.

The War Party that was repudiated in 2016 appears to be back in the saddle. But before he makes good on that threat of a “big price… to pay,” Trump should ask his advisers what comes after the attack on Syria.

Lest we forget, there was a reason Obama did not strike Syria for a previous gas attack. Americans rose up as one and said we do not want another Middle East war.

When John Kerry went to Capitol Hill for authorization, Congress, sensing the national mood, declined to support any such attack.

Trump’s strike, a year ago, with 59 cruise missiles, on the air base that allegedly launched a sarin gas attack, was supported only because Trump was new in office and the strike was not seen as the beginning of a longer and deeper involvement in a war Americans did not want to fight.

Does Trump believe that his political base is more up for a major U.S. war in Syria today than it was then?

The folks who cheered Trump a week ago when he said we were getting out of Syria, will they cheer him if he announces that we are going deeper in?

Before any U.S. attack, Trump should make sure there is more hard evidence that Assad launched this poison gas attack than there is that Russia launched that poison gas attack in Salisbury, England.

One month after that attack, which Prime Minister Theresa May ascribed to Russia and Foreign Minister Boris Johnson laid at the feet of Putin himself, questions have arisen:

If the nerve agent used, Novichok, was of a military variety so deadly it could kill any who came near, why is no one dead from it?

Both the target, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia are recovering.

If the deadly poison was, as reported, put on the doorknob of Skripal’s home, how did he and Yulia manage to go to a restaurant after being contaminated, with neither undergoing a seizure until later on a park bench?

If Russia did it, why are the British scientists at Porton Down now admitting that they have not yet determined the source of the poison?

Why would Putin, with the prestige of hosting the World Cup in June on the line, perpetrate an atrocity that might have killed hundreds and caused nations not only to pull out of the games, but to break diplomatic relations with Russia?

U.S. foreign policy elites claim Putin wanted Trump to win the 2016 election. But if Putin indeed wanted to deal with Trump, why abort all such prospects with a poison gas murder of a has-been KGB agent in Britain, America’s foremost ally?

The sole beneficiaries of the gas attacks in Salisbury and Syria appear to be the War Party.

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of a new book, “Nixon’s White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever.” To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.

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Pat, you do not think the Russians were involved in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter? Who else would have had a motive, except for Putin? Secondly, the Middle East is a mess and there will never be any easy answers, as there are so many radicals. Bush made a big mistake going into Iraq. Now part of Iraq belongs to Iran. Of course Obama destabilized Syria and Barack and Hillary destabilized Libya by having Khadafi killed and Libya is a mess!

When we made things “Up close and personal” in Libya for Khadafy by bombing his Palace and killing a few of his wives then he got on board quick in behavior. We need to make it up close and personal for Assad as well. We didn’t kill Khadafy last time I looked. His own actions motivated others to do it, just like the Justice that awaits Assad.

I agree. In this one time, i will fully disagree with Pat B. ITS not the ‘war party getting their Hooks” into trump, for him saying we need to act. ITs a man trying to keep his word, when he made a red line.
I say lets drop a few dozen large bombs on ALL of assad’s palaces, and shoot up/bomb the heck out of EVERYONE of his airfields, this time. Not just one.

NOTHING says our involvement has to be anything more than in just blowing up his stuff..

As for all those liberals who whine about “BUT what about what happens when he’s gone”.. I SAY Sorry, but that’s not our concern.

I agree with you backpacker. Regrettably, as far as the Skripals, there is no doubt in mind who is responsible. Other things are not as clear, and we may not want to escalate war and further involve the US in the Middle East, but thuggery in the Kremlin affecting our allies is something that needs to stop!

Sergei Skripal was a long time KGB agent. Over the course of his career, he probably made a lot of enemies all over the world. The cost/benefit trade does not favor Russia assassinating Skripal, and certainly not in way which could involve other, innocent, people. The Russian intelligence organizations are NOT stupid.
I think it is reasonable to question whether this was done by Russia, or by some terrorist organization or lone wolf, who’s happy to see an increase in tensions between Russia and the west.
As to the chemical attacks, I wouldn’t be surprised if the “attack” was staged by Sunni’s to bring the US back into the conflict, or by other Shiite terrorist organizations thinking to take over Syria once we remove Assad. Enforcing martyrdom on others is normal behavior for many of these barbarian organizations. Proof SHOULD be required before engaging in activities which have NO possibility of improving America’s position.